Erin Mann is baking a new cake every week for a year from the "All Cakes Considered" cookbook and shares her adventures here on AnnArbor.com. Read past columns here.

Even cake lovers need a break from cake. The next chapter of “All Cakes Considered” provides just that - six scrumptious weeks of cookies, bars and other non-cake baked goods. So simple and delicious, this week’s Cowboy Cookies will have you saying “Yee-haw!” and reaching for another.

The great thing about this cookie is that you can easily adapt it to your personal tastes. It requires 1 1/2 cups of bits (nuts, morsels, dried fruits, etc.) but the combination is up to you! I chose equal amounts of chopped pecans, dark chocolate chunks and butterscotch chips.

I made these cookies in Rex’s kitchen because I’m in the process of moving ... again. Borrowing a kitchen was a much better alternative to digging through cardboard boxes for sheet pans and parchment paper.

It goes without saying that I enjoy cooking and baking with my wonderful fella, but my favorite part about it this time was hearing him say that I’ve a knack for baking cookies and that mine always turn out better than his!

I set out small bowls of each group of ingredients: dry, sugars, oats, bits and liquids (lightly beaten eggs with vanilla mixed right in). This way, it’s super easy to dump, mix and repeat with each ingredient.

I placed nine blobs of dough on parchment-lined cookie sheets. I had two cookie sheets going - as one came out of the oven to cool another batch was ready to go in the oven. After the last bit of dough had been baked, I had 4 dozen tasty Cowboy Cookies. They were crispy on the outside and chewy in the middle - just as a home-baked cookie should be!

Try these cookies with your favorite combination of bits. The recipe is available online at Scribd.com (pages 6-7).

Erin Mann is a lover of all things cake but has been known to enjoy a good cookie, too! E-mail her at SheGotTheBeat@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter. Facebook users can also keep up-to-date with A CAKE A WEEK by joining the group.